My Birthday Weekend Trip

As I mentioned Friday, this was the weekend of our much anticipated weekend getaway.  I was pretty bummed about turning 40, but this trip was a great distraction.  I've always said that on my birthday, I don't want to refil anybody's cup, cook anything, change any diapers, have to break up bickering children, and all of the other mundane mom stuff.  This is the first year since I've had kids, that I actually didn't have to do any of that.  Did I miss my kiddos?  Hmmmm...of course I did, but it sure was nice to have some peace and quiet for a few days. 

Our cabin is on Beaver Lake.  It is quiet - no kids or pets. 

This is it before we made it messy because I didn't clean it up all weekend.  Well, obviously I didn't trash it and leave it like that, but it was "lived in" while we were there. 

This was our Saturday morning visitor.

We did a lot of hanging out, eating whatever we wanted (I refuse to get on the scale for at least a week), watching movies, and sleeping.  We also ventured into the town of Eureka Springs for a little window shopping.  Eureka is a "quaint Victorian village" as the tourist brochures say.  It's in the Ozark mountains so there are lots of windy little streets downtown full of little tiny shops and restaurants. 

HOORIBLE picture!  Hubby didn't warn me he was taking it. 

Eureka is full of these little alley ways that lead to tiny restaurants and/or pubs. 

There are lots of beautifully restored Victorian homes.  Many are now B&B's. 

This is the hisoric Cresent Hotel.  It is said to be haunted and there are ghost tours.  Someday I might get brave enough to go one one......maybe.

This is the place I really wanted to visit.  This is where we got married - 10 years ago this Thursday.  Unfortunately, it is only open for wedding this time of year.

Hubby and I downtown. 

and just for fun...

this is Humpty Dumpty who sits on a wall in downtown Eureka. 

We had a wonderful trip and I'm so thankful for my sweet family who took care of my babies while we were away. 

My Birthday Party!!! Guess What I Got!!!!!

So, next Saturday is my birthday.  My sister's birthday was January 14th.  We always have a joint birthday party at my mom's house.  My mom makes our favorite foods and we have a grand ole time together and, since my sister is not into dessert that much, I usually get my favorite cake (Thanks Kel!).  So, we all went to church Sunday morning and then over to my mom's for lunch. 

We couldn't decide which of our favorite foods we wanted, but we finally settled on two of our favorites.  Our family Lasagna recipe, which is THE BEST and probably the only recipe that is a family secret, and Chicken Fettucine Alfredo.  MMMMM!  YUM!  We also had salad and veggies, but really, who cares about the green stuff, right?  Okay, maybe it's just me. 

Yes, this is my plate of food and I totally skipped the "diet" food and calorie count for my birthday party. 

Here we are blowing out the candles on my favorite chocolate cake.  YUM! 

Not only did we have our favorite foods EVER, but then we got presents too.  Wanna see what we got?

Yeah, baby, we got Cricuts!  WOO HOO!  I was so excited that I jumped up and down until my daughter informed me that I was shaking the china in the cabinet behind me.  OOPS!  Guess I better get back on that diet today. 

So, I am pretty sure that this is my favorite birthday present EVER!  Oh, the things we will make together!  Gotta go read up on my new toy.  YAY!  Thanks mom (and dad) for our party and my cool new toy! 

Y'all check back tomorrow.  I'll be sharing the Valentine craft I made this weekend.